It stands out from a distance as you take the highway from Mbale to the districts of Sironko, Bulambuli, Kapchorwa and Moroto. The apparent white patch running down the side of the rock outshines a luscious green backdrop covering this section of the Elgon mountains. Those who have followed their curiosity and come close enough discover that what looks like a white sheet draped over the mountain is a waterfall known as Sisiyi falls in Buyaga sub-county, Bulambuli district.
Many visitors to the site confess that they discovered it while travelling on the route. After seeing it from a distance, over time, you feel indebted to arrange a visit there.
From the trading centre to the site where Mt Elgon begins to ascend into the sky like a pyramid, it is all but a flat terrain. This terrain promoted good visibility. As I approached the site, I begin to savour the object of my adventure.
The access road leading to the site seemed to have been graded recently, though some sections around the wetlands had deteriorated into muddy stretches.
Homesteads dotted along the route constituted of predominantly semi-permanent shacks made out of mud and wattle. Yet occasionally, we came across bungalows ringed by lavish hedges.
Halfway towards the site, we were beginning to feel the vibrations as the roaring waterfall became audible. The roar gets louder and more intense as you draw closer, and by the time you reach the site, you are compelled to shout when speaking to someone next to you.
The site was siting on a 10-acre private piece of land. It was magnificent. The fresh freezing breeze was unexpected, but pleasant.
The artificial forest of eucalyptus trees, offered a cooling canopy above and expansive trimmed lawns suitable for picnics and camping for over 200 people. The space looked sufficient for relaxing outdoor activities and energetic games.
Following my guide, it became clear for the first time that the towering eucalyptus trees on the edge of the lawn obstructed the falls. As the waterfall came into full view, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. It was indescribable! There was a huge volume of water, in a single giant mass that plunged to a depth of about 300 metres. It constantly, generated a loud roar and sent my entire body into a tremor.
As the water drifted down the granite rock, clouds of spray formed and thickened as it splattered against the shallow bed rock, then glided over innumerable rocks. This degenerated into gaggling noises, which died as soon as the water touched the two huge rocks at the bottom and turned to a tame stream. By this time I was completely drenched by the mist.
“When I was a little girl, these falls were probably as huge as the Bujagali Fall in Busoga. All the surrounding area was once part of the falls,” Maleza recalls.
She says over time, increased human habitation on the slopes of the Elgon Mountains gradually caused the volume of the water of the Sisiyi river to dwindle.
The Bamasaba (Bagisu) are a farming community and their land endowed with rich volcanic soils. For decades, they have earned a living from farming as they have always used water from the river to irrigate their crops during the dry season.
“This explains why the neighbouring communities have heavily relied on us to supply them with food because people here do not grow crops just seasonally,” Muleza explained.
Mzee Khalid Wetaka, 75, says Sisiyi has been a source of clean and safe water, in addition to irrigation. However, unlike in most sites around central Uganda, where unusual physical features automatically gain spiritual significance, there is no cultural religious attachment to Sisiyi falls.
“I do not ever remember the Bamasaba referring to it as a shrine of any cultural ritual. Not even the male circumcision rituals of Imbalu have been performed near the waterfalls,” Wetaka said.
Wetaka said though that many of the Asians who visit the site believe it is capable of curing emotional ailments, like mending broken marriages.
“Some consider the shallow bottom of the falls a place for ablution that cleanses them of misfortune as well as delivering a vision for the future,” Wetaka said.
I had woken up in the wee hours of the morning to what I thought was rainfall; a steady flow that at that hour of the day propels you deeper beneath the bed covers. “Oh, no, not this!” I remember thinking to myself, already wishing I had the liberty to stay in bed and savour the morning chill that makes sleep ever so sweet. Then it hit me; I was on my honeymoon and could actually sleep in. There was no work for me! I dug deeper into the covers, smiling to myself all the way.
Many hours later, I was woken up by a timid, and I thought concerned, knock at the door. I wondered who it could be and how they could have made their way to our cabin as it was high up on the hill among the trees and the route here, all rocky and slippery, was no easy climb even on a dry day. When my husband opened the door, it was the elderly caretaker we’d secretly started to refer to as our Kuku (grandma) after she had received us like her long lost grandchildren the day before.
Hadn’t it rained like forever? My God, the ground out there must be soggy, I thought. Peeping outside however, it was dry! Hubby saw the shock on my face and asked what was wrong. “How come the ground is dry when it rained almost the whole night?”
Because it hadn’t rained even a drop; all the while, it had been the waterfall just behind our cottage that I had mistaken for rain! How naïve! And yes, you guessed right; my husband simply refuses to let me hear the last of my embarrassing incident that day.
Partly from my desire to acquaint myself with where I’d be buried now that I was married and then also to honour my husband’s prompting, we agreed to spend some days of our honeymoon in his home area in Eastern Uganda. We would spend the first few days at Sisiyi Falls Resort, most recently nicknamed “Garden of Eden” by the locals.
I’d already heard so much about the falls from my in-laws and couldn’t wait to see them. Save for appreciating our elderly host however, I had been too tired to care much for anything when we had arrived the previous evening. I was even more annoyed by the endless ascent to our cottage uphill. I had loudly wondered why we couldn’t sleep on one of those nearer to the bottom of the rocky hill, but Kuku had insisted she wanted us to have the best. Oh, but the trek there! I hoped it would be worthwhile. And it was.
Uphill that evening, I began, even in my exhausted irritable state, to marvel at how much creativity had gone into stashing the cottages into the nature, as some were just besides high rocks, others within trees and others just a few metres from the waterfalls. The next day, all rested, refreshed and satisfied from Kuku’s hefty tasty meal of matooke, rice and chicken and relieved the grounds weren’t wet from the “overnight rains”, I couldn’t wait to get exploring.
Right there as I silently watched the water fall run through my fingers, I wondered how this treasure had gone hidden from the public for so long, known only to the Bukibologoto villagers, who used the surrounding areas to cultivate coffee, bananas and eucalyptus trees for firewood, bitter about the difficulty the rocky terrain brought to their farming experience.
Sisiyi Falls, so named because it never runs dry, come rain come shine, is only recently getting the acknowledgement it deserves. Slightly over eight years ago, Dr Patrick Mutono and his wife discovered its wonders and how much they could do of it. The couple has since bought the surrounding land from the locals, who were only too eager to see it go as its rocky terrain only undermined their farming efforts anyway. The Mutonos, in a way that doesn’t make you feel caged in, have fenced off this land and developed it into leisure gardens with cottages, finally transforming it into a suitable tourist destination now averagely flocked by tourists, holiday makers and honeymooners.
With self contained grass thatched cottages strategically scattered on the rocky grounds to maximise the good points of the place, you can sleep just beneath the falls, a captivating view away from them, or just among the rocks and wild flower plants. Either way, you are assured of waking up to the freshness and refreshing thud of the falls against the rocky gorge at the bottom of the cliff. At the bottom of the path from the falls, just as you enter the resort, the Mutonos have constructed a kitchen, restaurant and bar for refreshments and relaxation.
Impressively, all these developments seem to have been carefully made to deliberately enhance and reserve the area’s natural beauty, without diluting or crowding it with modernisation. The trees still stand tall and natural in the area, with an addition of flower plants evidently strewn about to make them blend in as naturally as possible, compared to if they were arranged carefully for instance. You could say it was made habitable without ruining its natural appeal.
As the locals couldn’t have found a more befitting nickname; Sisiyi falls Resort is indeed a sort of “Garden of Eden”. Uganda is home to countless tourist resorts and Sisiyi holds its own among them, offering a perfect place to admire nature in its naked beauty, or free oneself from the city commotion.
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